Super Congress: A 12 member line-up, President Obama as the head coach, and the American people as the turf. The goal posts will be military cuts on one end, and Social Security/Medicare cuts on the other end. The big banks on Wall Street will be the referees. The audience will be the international community.
And we might see some Tea-Party streakers coming onto the field to disrupt the game.
Who's going to play? NPR reports:
All eyes in Washington, from Capitol Hill to lobbyists' offices, are now on congressional leaders, who have until mid-month to name their committee members.
With a 12-member, evenly divided committee, the looming question is who may be the seventh swing vote who could push through a bipartisan agreement?
Few expect that person to emerge from the deeply partisan House.
Interviews with sources close to congressional leaders in both parties, as well as discussions with informed Hill watchers across the city, painted a picture of how the supercommittee may take shape.
Coming off the deficit debate where Tea Party-fueled GOP House freshmen drove the deal, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will likely be looking for a lineup that would make that faction happy.
That could likely include Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), perhaps Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, (R-MI), a longtime advocate of tax reform.
